Some Smithtown homeowners who have been dealing with chronic flooding in their basements for years are heralding a project that seems to have done the

SMITHTOWN - Some Smithtown homeowners who have been dealing with chronic flooding in their basements for years are heralding a project that seems to have done the trick. Environmental experts say the problem was that parts of the Nissequogue River were stagnant. Any time it rained, the water would seep into the ground and eventually into people's basements in southern Smithtown. It took a lot of money, but parts of the Nissequogue have finally been dredged. Suffolk County used environmental funds to reimburse the Town of Smithtown for the work, but at least $1 million more is required to dredge more of the river. Officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has tagged the problem to about 4,500 homes throughout southern Smithtown. Some of those residents are beginning to see an improvement, while others are still dreading rainy days. It may take up to a year before the rest of the dredging work can begin.